Outdoor Planting in Zone 6

[hoteidoc]

Now that I've got all these great Cholla cuttings & a couple of good sized bareroot Fero's that are hardy to this Zone, do I need to wait for near-Summer weather with dry soil to plant & then protect from moisture for a couple of weeks as in potting newly acquired plants for indoors? Or maybe better question -- How warm before planting? mid-60's with night lows of low 50's? Should I pot them to get the cuttings going & then plant end of June? Do nothing until end of June? Sorry Tony & PTCG, sometimes I get the cart before the horse with my newbie enthusiasm! My conditions are probably like early Feb. to you guys!

[cactushobbyman]

If I were to plant directly into my garden, I would want the soil not to heavy. I do now amend the soil where in the past I didn't. I would check when is your last frost date of record. Not average last frost date but record. In my area that extended to date about 10 days. Now you can feel safe about a frost. If you are going to amend I would say keep it on the dry and plant. I plant whenever I have time. Maybe that's going against some rule, but I have lost very few plants and they do just fine. I replant all the time and I fine the first year with not much action, but the second year big difference. Good luck.

[hoteidoc]

Thanks, CactusHobbyMan, that's something I can work with. Soil will have small gravel & Turface/NAPA/Poultry grit added as per my cactus soil. Record frost date -- that's another story. Would easily push into mid-May. I'll probably cheat some (long warm 10-day w/o any frost) & put large pots over cuttings if "they" change their mind!

[Peterthecactusguy]

if it were me I would make sure the days are sorta warm and the nights aren't below freezing before planting those cuttings. I would also wait until you see the root bubs starting to grow also.

[hoteidoc]

No problem with that, Pete. I have finally experienced that phenomenon with an Oreo I had to save from rot this Fall -- & of course, a couple of Opuntia pads. Always hard initially, just because "they say"! We always seem to think we "know" more, but as time goes on, you learn - both from your own negative (i.e. kills) experiences & who's doing the "saying"!

[Peterthecactusguy]

eh, for the most part Opuntia grow like weeds! What works for me should work for others, but who knows. Humidity might be much higher in NY, as well.

[Ohioman]

Don't do what I did. Last fall, I decided to plant a cactus garden in a hot dry bed with a southern exposure beneath white brick wall. There were several plants of yellow flowered Opuntia already there and thriving, which nothing else but tulips and gladioli seemed to do. Rather than use my head and wait until spring, I immediately ordered several varieties of Opuntia pads, several Echinocereus reichenbachii plants, an Agave Havardiana, and a Pediocactus simpsoni and put them right into the garden in early October. Then I watched all winter to see if they would survive. They all did, but not very well. The opuntia pads had begun to root before I put them in, but those roots disapeared and the cuttings seemed to develope itchy feet and every time I checked them, they had moved around like the wind was moving them. by spring they were unrooted and had become rather badly scarred. The Echinocerei were looking pretty good, but frost had heaved them out of the ground, so they had to be reset. The agave survived but didn't look very happy. The only plant that came through looking good was the Pediocactus, which surprised me by blooming with the Crocus bulbs. So now I've learned my lesson. As I add more plants into the garden, I'll plant in the Spring and early summer, so that the roots can get a good, firm grip on the soil before the frost starts trying to heave them out.
My outdoor garden is still in the experimental stage, trying to find out what will thrive here. Temperature is not too big a problem, because I am right in the middle of zone 6b, so there seems to be a good selection of species to choose from. The real question is humidity, precipitation, and cloudy winter weather. Here in northeastern Ohio, we are subject to what is called "lake effect precipitation". This caused by cold winter winds passing over the warm water of the Great Lakes and picking up a huge load of moisture. Basically, this means that from early november until sometime in February, when the Lake freezes over, we are covered with a dark, heavy, wet blanket of clouds. In addition, my exact location is nearly on the top of the hill on which the city of Canton is built, so I have high winds and drifting snow to contend with. As a beginning, Prickly pears seem to love it here, as well as a large variety of sedums, and yucca seems to grow like weeds. Any comments or suggestions would be welcome. I've been growing cacti for about fifty five years now, but it's mostly been indoors. An outdoor cactus/succulent garden is a new adventure for me.

[hoteidoc]

Wow, Ohioman, sounds like me & that famous Zen Master, Yogi Berra, there goes deja vous all over again! Same plants -- w/o the Pedio. going outside. Thank god I am capable of learning from my mistakes/arrogance & don't have to listen to 1000 "told you so"! Cuz they're already in my head! Also glad to have a job, so financially able to "redo" the right way. This Winter only lost an E. fendleri (that made it thru 2 Winters) and badly sunburned a large E. triglochid. (which is recovering) even tho the cover pot came off 1st week of April!